CANANDAIGUA — A trial is underway at Ontario County Courthouse for the third of three defendants charged with arson and conspiracy stemming from a house fire on Dec. 22, 2013. That blaze destroyed a 41 Saltonstall St. home and damaged two adjacent structures.

On trial is Shallamar L. Hayward-Crawford, 29, appearing Tuesday to be in very late stages of pregnancy and using a walker to navigate in and out of the courtroom. Hayward-Crawford, of 2110 Route 21, Canandaigua, is charged with one count of third-degree arson for the fire at her 41 Saltonstall St. property, two counts of fourth-degree arson for damage to adjoining properties, and attempted insurance fraud. All are felonies, said Ontario County First Assistant District Attorney Brian Dennis. Hayward-Crawford also faces a conspiracy charge, a misdemeanor.

If convicted, Hayward-Crawford could serve between seven-and-a-half to 15 years in state prison, Dennis said.

Previously found guilty of identical charges in separate litigations, and awaiting sentencing, are Hayward-Crawford’s husband, Samuel F. Crawford, of 2110 Route 21 in Canandaigua, and William Bradley Jr., of 3773 Route 247, Canandaigua.

According to trial testimony, Hayward-Crawford and Crawford — who are married and are the owners of the residence — allegedly committed the arson on Dec. 22, 2013, in an effort to receive proceeds from their insurance company. The couple allegedly approached William Bradley, Jr., who was an acquaintance, and asked him to help with the arson in the presence of his wife, Jessica Bradley.

Tuesday’s testimony before a jury of eight women and four men and Judge Craig Doran focused on text messages and recorded, monitored phone calls between Hayward-Crawford and Jessica Bradley.

Hayward-Crawford's defense counsel Aaron Sperano said Jessica Bradley “had a cooperation agreement which gave her immunity from any indictment and prosecution because she testified in grand jury and she cooperated with the police.”

“Today we heard some of her controlled phone calls that she made, with investigators present, to Shallamar Hayward-Crawford, basically trying to get her to confess to asking Bill Bradley to start the fire and telling him that they’d pay him $1,000 to do that,” said Sperano after court on Tuesday. “Shallamar did not admit anything on the phone calls.”

Text messages between Hayward-Crawford and Jessica Bradley that were entered into evidence showed Hayward-Crawford telling Bradley, as Bradley was being interviewed by police, “I can’t protect you if you throw yourselves to the wolves. Please don’t do anything stupid … we will all lose everything.”

Among Bradley’s texted responses was, “... the only stupid thing I did was letting Bill do this for you …”

Also testifying was Joseph Kusczkowski, a special investigator of suspicious claims at Allstate Insurance, who said Hayward-Crawford and Crawford had increased their insurance coverage of the home on Dec. 11, 2013, upping it from a $100,000 homeowner’s policy to a $180,000 landlord policy. The fire occurred on Dec. 22, 2013.

Page 2 of 2 - “The ADA is going to pitch to the jury that she did this in preparation of burning the house down,” said defense counsel Sperano. “It’s our position that Miss Hayward-Crawford was directed by her Allstate adjuster to get a new policy. ... She’s not going to gain anything more from doing it, other than spending more money on premiums. She’s doing it because her adjuster told her to.”

The trial will resume at 9 a.m. on Thursday, Aug. 7, and is likely to spill over into next week.

“I don’t think we can get it all done in a day,” said Dennis, “and the judge has indicated he’s booked in the morning and afternoon on Friday.”

On Thursday, Dennis plans to play a video of the fire in progress, and will call neighbors and possibly William Bradley Jr. as witnesses, he said.

Dennis said defense counsel Sperano said Monday in his opening statement that "he was going to drop some bombshell…”

“I’m waiting to see what it’s going to be,” said Dennis. “We’re wondering ‘what is the defense?’”

On July 17, Samuel Crawford was convicted of three counts of arson, one count of attempted insurance fraud and one count of conspiracy. The 33-year-old construction worker could face up to 15 years in prison in connection with the December fire. Judge Frederick Reed will sentence him on Sept. 25.

William Bradley Jr., 21, pleaded guilty to all counts on Monday, July 13, and will be sentenced on Sept. 3.

Hayward-Crawford is currently being held in Ontario County Jail, Dennis said.

None of the three has any previous convictions for arson-related offenses, and Crawford was on New York state parole for an unrelated offense, according to Canandaigua Det. Sergeant Scott Kadien.

Court record shows that Bradley did not receive payment from Crawford or Hayward-Crawford.